Page 78 of The Ex Factor

“As in, take them back? Tsk, that’s so unbecoming.”

“As in, never reading to you again until you stop bothering me.”

My pulse fluttered as I imagined us spending a lifetime together, my head in his lap as he read to me every night until my eyelids dropped close.

“All right, you win.”

I yielded. Even if it existed in the imaginary plane, it was a vision that would carry me through the toughest days of my life.

“What do you want to do next?” I asked. “It’s our last night here. Wanna go dancing?”

He stopped midway to selecting another delectable pastry from the spread and frowned. “Dancing?”

“Yeah, the island has a lot of great clubs.”

“I had something different in mind.”

“Like?”

“I was thinking of taking another long walk along the sea. Are you game?”

I slumped. “No! You wore me out this morning. I walked…” I checked the data on my smartwatch, “10, 578 steps.”

He threw his head back in a laugh. “Alright, then, you suggest.”

“Let’s—”

“No dancing,” he interrupted me.

I blinked my eyes in thought. “Then I’m out of ideas.”

“I have one.”

“Does it involve walking or running on the beach?”

“No, but it does involve being on the beach.”

“Oh?”

“How do you feel about spending the night on the beach?”

“As in sleeping in the sand? No, thank you.”

“Notinthe sand. On the sand. I inquired with the staff during lunch. They have cots with mattresses, and they can set it all up under a canopy in case it rains. But it’s not going to rain.”

I narrowed my eyes at him. “How do you know that? Do you have an in with the rain god now?”

“No, sweet girl. I have a very reliable weather app.” He leaned in to grab my nose between two fingers, and I giggled.

I had assumed it would be a low-key setup with a couple of recliners underneath a canopy. But this was Mary Beth’s domain. Her kingdom.

When we walked to the beach after dinner, multiple sets of string lights illuminated two low cots laid with full bedding sets under a regal tent. Dad was rich, but our wealth was acquired, not inherited. This screamed ancestral wealth, which had kept increasing through the generations. We were not nearly in the same league as the Arlingtons or the Strausses. Even if we had the money, expecting or demanding something like this would be inconceivable. I breathed in the sea-soaked happiness around me as I lowered myself to the left cot.

“Now what?” I asked as Sujit removed his footwear and settled himself on the other bed. “We just sleep?”

“No. We listen to the sea, look at the stars in the distance.”

“You’ll have to turn off these lights for that. Do you know how?” I looked around for a switch of some kind. The person helping us that evening had already retreated to the château.

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